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Tuesday, August 2, 2011

Name: Gemma Christina Arterton
Birthdate: February 2nd 1986 in Gravesend, Kent, England, UK
Height: 5' 7" (170 cm)
Hair: Brunette
Eyes: Brown
Nationality: British
Natural Accent: London / RP
Education: Graduated from RADA in 2007
Represented by: Sally Long-Innes at Independent
Special Skills:
BASSC Certificate in Stage Combat (Distinction); Dance - Period, Elizabethan, Restoration, Waltz, Russian, Polka, Flamenco; Wide range of accents including regional British, American and Irish; Strong soprano singer
Other Experience:
Advanced National Diploma in Acting at the Miskin Theatre Company (Distinction); Member of the Masquerade Theatre Company in Kent, productions include The Massacre at Civitella and Gina in Guiding Star. Received the 2004 Best Supporting Actress for Kent Award.
Special Interests: Music, gigs, film, socialising, drawing/painting, playing the guitar, making clothes and jewellery

Gemma Christina Arterton was born in Gravesend, Kent, England on February 2nd 1986. Gemma and her younger sister Hannah (a musician) were raised by their cleaner mother and welder father. After attending a grammar school in Gravesend, and attending a performance arts course, Arterton trained at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art (RADA) on a full government grant. She enjoyed studying at RADA and felt she was open to the processes the teachers put her through. "I was quite chilled, so if I got negative feedback I could deal with it, even if it hurt. It's good to go from somewhere that's so intense, and where people are studying you, to a big romp like St Trinian's."

Since graduating from RADA in 2007, Gemma Arterton has quickly become one of the rising stars of the British film industry, establishing herself in a broad range of eye-catching roles across film and television. Within months of graduation she was making her mark on stage and television, starring as Rosaline in Love Labour's Lost at the Globe theatre and opposite Maggie Smith and David Walliams in Stephen Poliakoff's BBC drama Capturing Mary.

Her feature film debut came later that year, when she appeared as Kelly Jones, the inimitable Head Girl at St Trinian's. The film, a reimagining of the classic Ealing Studios series, was such a success that Gemma reunited with co-stars Rupert Everett and Colin Firth for the sequel, St. Trinian's: The Legend of Fritton's Gold.

2008 proved to be even busier, with roles in comedy Three and Out, Guy Ritchie's RocknRolla, and as Elizabeth Bennett in the BBC's comic fantasy Lost in Austen. Capping it all were two stand-out performances which both made her a household name and further underlined her versatility as an actor: firstly, the title role in the BBC's acclaimed adaptation of Thomas Hardy's classic novel, Tess of the D'Urbervilles, opposite Eddie Redmayne and Hans Matheson; and, secondly, a striking, subtly comic turn as Agent Strawberry Fields, foil to Daniel Craig's brooding James Bond in the international blockbuster, Quantum of Solace.

Winner of Empire's Best Newcomer Award in 2009, Gemma's career continues to go from strength to strength in a wide variety of roles. Having appeared alongside Bill Nighy, Philip Seymour Hoffman, Rhys Ifans and Kenneth Branagh in Richard Curtis's pirate radio comedy The Boat That Rocked, she follows The Disappearance of Alice Creed, with key roles in two big-budget epics: Prince of Persia, directed by Mike Newell and starring Jake Gyllenhaal, and Louis Leterrier's Clash of the Titans, opposite Ralph Fiennes, Liam Neeson and Sam Worthington. Also forthcoming is Wuthering Heights, which offers Gemma the opportunity to bring her own interpretation of Emily Bronte's legendary Cathy to the big screen.

One may expect great things from this talented and unique English actress.